Living a Colorful Life: My iPhone Apps

    

My iPhone caused a stir at a party last night. The revelers were surprised and delighted that I organize my phone apps by color. Though I had heard about this practice somewhere online months ago, it was new to them and they loved it. In fact, they made me promise to share it in the blog today. Voila! 

When I try to explain my life and blog, I usually default to the phrase, "I am driven by color and sugar." That seems to sum it up. A good friend even thinks I should add the hashtag #colorsugarribbon to all of my online posts make "finding delight in everyday life" a clearer concept. I think she may be onto something.

Anyhoo, last night as I was paging past my apps to find something to share, a friend looked down and said, "Wait a minute...are your apps by color?!" Everyone responded well to it, though many conceded that they didn't thing they could change from their current folder system. 

I arranged my apps by color last summer and I will never go back. It's too pretty! FYI, I do have my most important apps on the first page for speed (Google Maps, Camera, Instagram, Calendar), but the rest are as you see them here. It might seem frivolous...but it also might bring you delight. 

#colorcoded #instagramable #apps #colorsugarribbon #finddelight #beautyofeverydaylife #color #makersgonnamake #seattleblogger #iphone #iphoneographer #pin #momentsofdelight #creativejuices #creativelife

Scarf Management: A Super Simple Way to Pack Scarves

I have a serger and I love to buy silky fabric at the fabric store, serge the edges and have a new beautiful scarf to scrunch around my neck.  That said, I sometimes (sometimes? always) get carried away when I am "making" and I end up with a huge collection of scarves, all of which I want to bring with me on my trips. 

So "Scarf Management" has been on my mind. I was struck with this simple and effective packing system for scarves when I was getting ready for this last my trip to Seattle.  I was in my office and I came across this pale pink multi-pocket file folder (intended for papers) and thought: scarves!

It worked like a charm.  I folded each scarf into a medium size square and slide each right into the pocket.  No snagging, no becoming unfolded, no problem!

The next time you are packing for a trip, look on your desk to master scarf management!

Perspective: Flowers From Every Angle

I am so lucky.  I have a wonderful life and I'm so happy that I've found a way to bring delight to others through my photographs and story telling.

I've taken a break from daily blogging this last week to organize, think and plan my next 6 months.  I decided that a post showing the 3 different sides of the same floral arrangement could help me illustrate just how illuminating it can be to look at things from a different perspective.

Peonies, roses, dahlias and gerbera daisies in a Spring palate all worthy of our attention. Which side do you prefer?

 

Bonne Maman makes Beautiful Jam Jars turned Bead Organizers

Lucky for me, my best friend's husband devours a jar of Bonne Maman preserves every week! She knows that I like to paint jam jars, so she asked if I wanted her empty jars before they hit the recycling bin.  Do I?!

I asked her to save the lids for me too, as I knew they would make beautiful storage containers. These beautiful glass jars would be perfect as bead storage for my jewelry making!  

It feels so good to walk into my craft room and see the abundance of components neatly organized (and dust free) on my shelf.  Doesn't it look pretty?  Thank you, Kim, for helping me to up-cycle!

It's Tulip Time, One Way or Another

It's tulip time, the oh-so-important time frame in the Fall when you need to plant your tulip bulbs so that you are able enjoy them next Spring. 

I must be honest and admit that in my backyard, the squirrels have won.  Until there is some bulb-breakthrough, I can't plant tulips again only to find that they were eaten by my pesky neighbors.  I've sprinkled them with hot sauce, planted them under wire barriers, you name it and they are always gone by Spring. 

My message here is two-fold.  If you have luck with tulips, it's time to get out there and plant.  If you have my situation, it's time to promise yourself a trip to Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan.  There are 6 million tulip bulbs planted and ready for us to ooh and ahhh over the first week or so in May.  Next year the Holland Tulip Festival is May 3-10th, 2014 and I am going.  

My last visit was in 2007 and I miss it!  When the tulip fields are blooming, my heart swells.  

These "Angelique" tulips (above) look like peonies, don't they?

When something this lovely happens only once a year, it is worth it to get out your calendar and commit.  Before school picnics and soccer matches dictate your weekends, write "Tulip Time" on your calendar the first weekend in May (I just did!).  

That way, when you are scheduling your entire Spring, you can glance at your calendar and say, "Oh gosh, I'd love to, but I'll be at Tulip Time enjoying 6 million tulips that day.  Maybe the next weekend?"

Ha! But you know I'm serious.  If you don't put it on the calendar now, it gets very hard to find the time later.  Post some pictures from your trip on my Moments of Delight Facebook Page, ok?

Perfect Purse Management

I was at the hairdresser one day and the ladies were all talking about how difficult it is to change purses all the time.  They said that they often stuck with one purse, not because they wanted to, but because that was how they would know they had what they needed with them.

I chimed in that I had a staging area for my purses in my bathroom linen closet and they said...what?  One of the girls asked me to blog about it so that they could see what I mean.  Voila! 

I told them that it started when I began my cigar box purse business.  I am known for the interesting fabric linings that I put in the cigar boxes and I was always opening my purse to show it off.   

When you are always opening your purse, you want the contents to be pretty. That's when I started collecting pretty pens, colorful notepads (to take orders/contact info), little tins of mints, and clear box wallets (I wish I could still sell these, but I can't find them anymore!).

Anyhoo, all of this led me to create a staging area where I stop, with the purse I am carrying that day, and load it with something from each compartment. My wallet and iPhone start the process.

From the back left in the photo above, I have:

• cute tissues
• Band-aids
• coin purses/powder compacts/mirrors
• hair bands/bobby pins
• hand sanitizer wipes
• a pen/calculator, key chains, little flashlights
• Vitamin C lozenges
• notepads
• mints
• allergy medicine, ear plugs, tums
• gum
• business cards
• a clear jar of lipsticks/glosses
• a jar of pens (just outside the photo)

We all have these items in our house and we all need them to make it through the day, why not put it all in one place?  I can't tell you how easy it has made my life.  And it is just part of one shelf in my bathroom linen closet.  The shelf above holds my cigar box purses and Delight totes.  Easy-peasy.

Do you think you'd like to have a staging area for your purses?

Laundry Manangement

We all have to make time for laundry.  And when I am home, I feel a great sense of accomplishment when the dishwasher and washing machine are running at the same time.  Gives us just enough time to stir the soup and read a magazine, right?

Years ago, I made myself a "hangs on a hanger" cotton multi-pocket organizer. I love it and it hangs on the hook by the garage door, filled with mittens, garden shears, a ball of twine and assorted objects. 

I don't have time to make another one (it took me what felt like hours on the sewing machine for the last one), but I wanted the same concept to work in my tiny laundry room.  So I bought a clear pocket shoe organizer (one that is intended to hang over a door with hooks) and I hung it on 3 nails in the wall, hidden behind the laundry room door.  Needless to say, I love it!  

And while I'm on the subject of laundry, that blue Oxiclean Laundry Spray just got green paint/gum out of my white pants - a miracle, to say the least.  

Do you need some laundry management?  

Purse Protectors

As someone that makes cigar box purses, I naturally carry and travel with cigar box purses.  I have always managed to cushion them well enough between clothes in the suitcase, but it never felt right.  

So I took a day out of my schedule to take the time to make the things I need.  I decided on a simple open sleeve with padding and I made four pouches of varying shapes.  

I ironed fusible fleece to the wrong side of this fabulous flannel fabric printed with mixed drinks.  I couldn't resist the tongue-in-cheek idea of cigars and drinks paired together.  Yes, I amuse myself all the time with things like this.

The inside of the pouches is also lined with the drink fabric and on a few of the sleeves I sandwiched bubble wrap in between the fabric.  Genius, right?  These pouches provide all the protection I could ask for and they are super cute to boot.  The best part is that they work just as well protecting my purses in the closet at home.

Gate A43 is now boarding!

Easy Ornament Storage

Have I got an easy holiday storage idea for you!  Turn the compartmentalized plastic containers that they sell apples in at Costco, into safe storage for delicate Christmas ornaments.  

You can see that I also use the empty plastic egg cartons (2 dozen) for my smaller vintage ornaments.  I love this method and I wanted to share it with you.  

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so get to it!  

Spice Puzzle

Wouldn't this make a great puzzle?  Last week I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to organize the cupboard next to my stove top.

Halfway through, the array of spices, salts and herbs was so overwhelming it almost looked pretty.  So I grabbed my camera and took this photo to show you.  This is real life - a combination of high hopes, wrong turns and a lot of spice.  

I was looking through my stack of Everyday Food magazines (December issues) to find a one-cookie-dough-many-ways recipe.  What I found was an advertisement by McCormick that said if you have any spices that were packaged in Baltimore, Maryland, they were at least 15 years old.  Yikes!  And the issue I was reading was from the 2006 issue, so add another 6 years to the past its prime calculation.  I had to know if any of my spices were 20 years old.

Yep.  I found 5 bottles from my wedding shower days!  I now know with certainty that I don't use: Allspice, Marjoram, Chervil or Savory.  Ha!  I pitched a few other bottles that seemed old and now I have more room on the behind the door adhesive spice rack for flavorings I do actually use and the rest of the containers are arranged by type in the cupboard. Victory.

Do you have any vintage spices?

Tulip Time

Tulips are proof that gardeners are organized and optimistic!

This time of year there is a chill in the air.  The trees are changing from green to every imaginable shade of red, yellow and orange.  The magazines are full of chili recipes.  There is college football on television every Saturday.  It is Fall and the cider mill beckons. 

But we will not be distracted.  Gardeners around the country are faithfully planning a spectacular Spring 2012.  Fall is the time to plant Spring blooming bulbs: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and then even more tulips.  Just look at the sea of white tulips with delicate green markings (above) called "Spring Green."  It makes me want to fill my beds with tulips!

My favorite collection of tulips is a pastel mix that says "Easter Bonnet" mix on the packaging.  In life and lipsticks, it is all about the name.  When I heard the phrase "Easter Bonnet" it was all over.  I've found this collection in upscale garden centers (as well as the link I provided above), but shop early.  All the other girls like the name too!

Travel Must-Haves

It seems I am always on the go-go-go.  I thought that today would be a good day to consolidate some of my best tips for a successful trip.

Beauty Basics:  There are two things I always keep in my travel dopp kit.  The first is a package of Oil of Olay dry 2-in-1 facial cloths.  They have gentle suds to wash your face and are perfect as one-time-use washcloths in the shower. 

I also always keep a Sonia Kashuk all-in-one make up palette from Target in my bag.  When I unpack from a trip, I leave it in my dopp kit so that no matter how quickly I pack the next time, I know that I have "a little something" for my eyes, cheeks and lips.

Packing Clothes:
I have written about how I like to plan and photograph my outfits for an important or lengthy trip.  I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it makes packing and "looking put together" on the road a whole lot easier.  You can see my explanation here.

Packing Jewelry:
You know by now that I make all of my own jewelry.  Which means I have a lot of it.  I have devised a wonderful way to get it from place to place and I want to remind you of it here.

Whoosh! I know that was a lot of suggestions and I hope it helps to keep you super cute on your next adventure away from home.  Bon Voyage!

Modern Sewing Basket

I have been on a "sort, organize, finish projects" bender ever since my book on Paris was published.  I think I feel like I finally have the time to finish a few things before Summer gets in full swing and I am traveling again.

This productivity was also spurred on by things like a 3-day search for my seam ripper.  I knew I had one and I couldn't find it anywhere.  Which made me realize that since getting a sewing table with drawers (at least 10 years ago), I had given up having a proper sewing basket.  And without a sewing basket, I had no real place to keep my notions.  The harder I looked for the missing seam ripper, the more sewing items I found in various drawers, boxes and jars around the house.

I needed one spot for needles, thimbles and measuring tape and I found the perfect container!  A snap together multi-level box.  I've provided a link, but I have seen these for sale in the craft/organizer section of Target and large grocery super stores.  It is clear, modern and can grow (by adding more snap-on levels) to accommodate as many notions as I can handle.  

Do you need a modern sewing basket?   

Mise en place

Mise en place is a French phrase meaning "everything in place."  It is most often used in kitchen as an organizational philosophy before beginning a recipe.

If you have "everything in place" (measuring bowls & spoons, specialty tools, serving/baking dish, spices and all of the ingredients) out on the counter, you are improving your chance of success with a recipe.

I like to follow this ideal because I am notoriously distracted in the kitchen.  People are my priority and if anyone is within earshot, I can't help but talk, tell stories and gesture.  This leads to the inevitable question...Did I actually put the salt in?  I doubled the flour, did I double the baking powder?

Usually these questions come to mind after the blur of white powders is in the bowl.  So lately, I have taken mies en place one step further.  After I measure and add an ingredient, I place the container of it on the other side of the counter.  It becomes evidence of my progress and has reassured me many times.  

Do you follow mise en place in the kitchen?      

Jewelry Management

I have seen the future and it requires jewelry management.

I make all of my own jewelry and for a while it seemed my motto was "365 days/365 necklaces." And why not? I can make each piece to be exactly what I need. But when you travel like I do, jewelry transport can be an issue.

I have created the perfect system and it is time to share it with you.

First you will need a Snapware Craft Organizer Box. (Also available in Target in the laundry section) Each unit has several levels that snap together - but the fun thing is you can snap multiple sets together to create a jewelry tower (perfect for car trip). Or if you are flying, one unit will pack in a suitcase nicely.

Next is the containers inside - I use Lookers hinged vinyl cases (shown in green) to keep necklaces safe and untangled. I have found some at a Michael's craft store (in the gift wrap section) and at The Container Store.

Squares of bubble wrap are perfect to cushion bracelets and watches. You can even buy pretty colored bubble wrap at the post office if you are so inclined - just cut to the size you need.

The best and most unusual item I organize with is the round lidded plastic box that protects a roll of electrical tape (Home Depot!). They are perfect for my earrings, pins and pendants.

So there you have it...Anne Reeves' guide to jewelry management. Helping you to stay super cute, wherever you are.